50,000 families affected by floods in 'safe zone'

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 2009, 13:07 GMT]Health officials in Vanni said Wednesday that civilians inside the 'safe zone', urgently need at least 50,000 temporary shelters and temporary toilets as they live under worn out tarpaulin tents. There is a severe shortage of food and medicines. Scarcity of drinking water and sanitation facilities add to the woes of the people, health officials said. The makeshift hospital in Puthumaaththa'lan was struggling to accommodate patients under its roof. Many patients were earlier staying outside the building. The ICRC ship, which uses to transport the seriously wounded did not come due to the bad weather conditions, the officials further said.

IDPs struggling to cope with floods amid SLA shelling

About 81,000 families consisting of about 330,000 persons displaced from Mullaiththeevu, Kilinochchi, and part of Vavuniyaa, Mannaar and Jaffna Districts are staying in the Safe Zone in Mullaiththeevu proclaimed by the Sri Lankan government.

Their situation was worsened by the onslaught of heavy rains and strong winds on 09th and 10th March, 2009. As a result about 50,000 families are directly affected and have nowhere to go.